FREE EBOOK
100 GAME DESIGN
TIPS & TRICKS
100 GAME DESIGN
TIPS & TRICKS
by
WLAD MARHULETS
the developer of
DARQ.
Unfold Games, LLC
California
Copyright
Copyright © 2020 by Wlad Marhulets
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.
UNFOLD
GAMES
1
Unfold Games, LLC
5042 Wilshire Blvd, #39434,
Los Angeles, CA 90036
USA
This book is designed to provide helpful information on the subjects discussed solely for educational and
entertainment purposes. The author is not offering it as legal, accounting, or other professional services
advice. While best efforts have been used in preparing this book, the author makes no representations or
warranties of any kind and assumes no liabilities of any kind with respect to the accuracy or completeness of
the contents and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness of use for a
particular purpose. The author shall not be held liable or responsible to any person or entity with respect to
any loss or incidental or consequential damages caused, or alleged to have been caused, directly or indirectly,
by the information or strategies contained herein. Every company is different, and the advice and strategies
contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should seek the services of a competent
professional.
Some screenshots used in this book are copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically
authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in an effort to advance
understanding of Game Design and we believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material
in this Ebook is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the
included information for research and educational purposes. For more information, email
publishing@unfoldgames.org
ISBN: 978-l-7352325'4'6 (Ebook)
Intro
Hey! My name is Wlad Marhulets, and I’m the developer of DARO. I
wanted to share with you some tips & tricks about game design I’ve
learned over the years while working on my first game (which to my
surprise became #42 most shared PC Video Game of 2019, according to
Metacritic). Some of these lessons were learned by making countless
mistakes, others from GDC talks, youtube videos, fellow developers,
and articles. I did my best to link to sources if I managed to find them
or remember them. Some tips are genre specific. Others contradict one
another. It's up to you to use them or not. Ultimately, breaking rules is
the prerequisite to innovation. My hope is that this little book helps
you make better decisions when designing your game!
If you’re looking for advice, feedback, or guidance on your gamedev
journey, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter (@UnfoldGames).
Let’s go!
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l. Give the Player Clear Goals.
Without clear goals, players won’t know what to do in your game
and as a result, won’t feel engaged. In this Unite 2016 talk. Curtiss
Murphy talks about 3 kinds of goals:
1. Explicit Goals: goals communicated to the player by the game
itself. For example: “new objective, get from point A to point B.”
2. Implicit Goals: goals that are implied by the game, but not
communicated directly. For example: don’t die. Win the battle.
Solve a puzzle.
3. Player Driven Goals: these are the most interesting kind of goals.
It’s the player who set a goal and gets engaged in achieving it. For
example: in Minecraft, you’re not given a specific objective, yet
you quickly find yourself working on a large project. The project
invented by you. This kind of goal is the most effective in keeping
the player engaged.
Player driven goals are extremely powerful. It’s incredible what people manage
to create in Minecraft.
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2. Tell the Player What to Do, But Not How to Do It
Having clear objectives is important, but give the player the freedom
to complete them on their own term. As a game designer, try to
think of multiple ways an objective can be reached. Allow the player to
choose the playstyle they prefer and avoid linearity. Make the player feel
as if they are the mastermind behind the solution they came up with, even
if it was carefully engineered and thought through during the design
process.
Hitman series is known for giving the player a lot of freedom in how they
approach each mission. There are always multiple ways to complete each
objective.
3- Reward & Punishment
Reward the player for progressing in the game. Depending on the
genre, it can be new items, XP, story elements, etc. Punishment is
also an important motivator, but if you overuse it, the player will likely
get frustrated with your game. The Diablo series is known for striking
the perfect balance between both. The player is always motivated to move
forward, being rewarded by gold, and new gear. The hope of finding a
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rare piece of equipment makes the journey much more engaging. The
punishment of death is always there, yet it never overshadows the
rewards that come with the progress.
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Diablo games feel satisfying because collecting gear and unlocking new skills
serves as a powerful motivator as the player progresses through the game.
4. Teach the Player to Play Your Game
Once you introduce a game mechanic, like jumping, make sure the
player has to use it to progress further. Give it some time, and test
the player's ability to use it. After some time has passed, think of a way the
player could utilize the mechanic in a creative way to solve a problem or
overcome an obstacle. These 3 steps are a sign of good game design and
ensure that the player understands and remembers how to use a
mechanic. For example, Super Mario Bros first teaches the player the jump
mechanic. It does it by showing the player that they can hit the bricks and
get over gaps. Later, the jump mechanic is being tested by making the
player jump on top of little Goombas, the first type of enemy in the game.
Finally, the player is asked to use the jump mechanic creatively by
utilizing a double jump to defeat the turtles, also known as Koopa Troopas.
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By that time, the player has a good understanding of what can be done in
the game with the jump button.
Shigeru Miyamoto, the designer of Super Mario Bros, teaches the player step-
by-step how to use the jumping mechanic.
5. Reuse the Core Mechanic in Various Ways
Most well-designed games don’t introduce a lot of mechanics.
You’ll be better off having just one core mechanic. Try to find
creative ways to reuse it throughout the game so that it always feels fresh.
Think of Jonathan Blow’s Braid, which uses the concept of rewinding time
as the core mechanic. The mechanic remains the same throughout the
game. Each section of the game changes something about the world
that makes the mechanic feel fresh. For example, having some elements
of the world be immune to the time manipulation opens up the world of
possibilities for new puzzles, which Jonathan Blow explores masterfully.
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S3
Braid is centered around a single mechanic, yet it always feels fresh thanks to
clever level design that gradually introduces new ideas as the game progresses.
It's the world that evolves, not the core mechanic.
6. Create Your Game Loop
game loop is a series of actions that are performed over and over
^JLagain throughout your game. Every game has a core loop that
remains unchanged. Your goal is to design a game loop of actions that is
engaging and contrasting in nature. For example, Skyrim’s core game
loop involves exploration, fighting, looting, and upgrading new gear.
Each action has a different intensity and emotion behind it, that's why
the loop remains engaging throughout hundreds of hours of gameplay.
Try to create a game loop that is simple, yet varied. Making the player do
too much of the same activity in the game will simply feel boring.
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Skyrim’s game loop consists of just a few actions, yet it remains engaging
thanks to the wide range of emotions within the loop. Fighting feels exciting.
Looting and upgrading gear feels rewarding, etc.
7. Surprise & Twist
Once the player gets used to the gameplay, introduce a new
element, or a new rule. Look for ways to surprise your players.
There are many ways to achieve this. It could be done through story
twists, new mechanics, unexpected events, etc. (Spoilers ahead). How
engaged were you when The Stanley's Parable teleported you into a
completely different world? What about the big story and gameplay twist
in The Last of Us, when Joel gets injured?
8. Make Good Boss Fights
hat makes for a good boss fight? This video makes an in-depth
analysis of this subject. A good boss fight should:
• Be challenging: nobody would enjoy the sweet victory if the
bosses could be defeated as easily as other enemies.
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• Be fair: players respond negatively when they notice the game
trying to cheat to achieve difficulty. Make your boss's behavior
complex yet somewhat predictable if enough practice, patience,
and observation are applied.
• Avoid false difficulty: An easy way to make your boss fight
challenging would be to it a lot of health. While bosses should be
more resistant to the player's attacks, it shouldn't be the main
difficulty factor. If it is, the fight becomes monotonous.
• Be intimidating: Dark Souls series does it best. The design of
their boss fights always prioritizes new ways to intimidate the
player. It could be achieved through epic music, boss size, or
anything else that can help create a sense of danger.
• Test player's skills: A boss fight can be seen as an exam, testing
the player’s knowledge of all the game mechanics presented in the
game prior to the fight. Make the boss force the player to utilize all
the skills that are available at that point.
• Be a part of the story: Last but not least, make the boss fight fit
well into your game’s story. The player should know why they’re
fighting the boss. Make it personal. After all, the victory won't feel
as satisfying if the boss encounter was completely random and
unexpected. For example, in The Last Of Us, Elbe’s fight with David
is preceded by a lot of story elements that make the fight truly
emotional. You can’t help but want to hurt David as much as
possible. It would have felt so differently if David didn’t appear in
the game before the actual fight sequence.
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Bosses from the Dark Souls series are usually much bigger than the player.
Combined with epic music, that’s a good intimidation tactic.
9. Create Points of Interest
Points of interest are unique objects or structures that help the player
to navigate the world. They’re especially useful in open-world games
where the player has the freedom of movement in all directions. Good
points of interest stand out from the rest of the environment and look
different from every side. You shouldn’t have too many of them next to
each other.
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In Journey, the player is given a point of interest since the beginning of the
game. The mountain top gives the player a clear sense of direction throughout
the game.
10. Make Memorable Environments
art from big monuments and gigantic points of interest, try to
xr^apply similar principles to your level design, so the player doesn’t feel
disoriented in your game. In order to achieve that, add variety to your
game assets and use unique architectural elements to serve as points
of interest on a smaller scale. When designing my own game DARQ
making the environment look memorable was especially important to
me. It's something that I had to learn the hard way during alpha and beta
testing. Since the player can walk on walls and ceilings, it was easy to get
lost. I went the extra mile and made the whole environment mostly
unique. There aren't many repeating assets in the game, besides small
props. Whether the player is walking on the floor, walls, or the ceiling, it's
a lot easier to navigate the environment without feeling disoriented since
every room looks unique and has memorable elements in them.
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In DARQ, the player can walk on walls and ceilings. It allows for viewing the
environment from various camera angles. That increases the need for making
every room unique, featuring interesting architectural shapes that look
different from every angle.
11. Make the Environment Interactive
Make your world feel alive. If shooting is your main game
mechanic, make sure that the player can shatter windows and
leave bullet holes in walls. Not being able to interact with the world
according to some basic expectations can result in a lot of frustration and
the loss of immersion. Conversely, being able to affect the world and see
it respond accordingly is incredibly satisfying. Destructible
environments are especially important in shooters. Bro Force feels great,
and it’s mostly because almost everything you see on the screen can be
destroyed.
Fully destructible environments in Bro Force
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12. Construct Your Story Arc
Whether your game is story-driven or not, you need to think about
what your game’s arc is going to look like. Typically, you want to
gradually raise tension until the climax of the game that comes at the end
(final boss battle, big story element, etc.). Other story arcs can be just as
effective.
13. Use Light to Guide The Player
Light can be used to guide the player into the direction you want
them to go. Players would naturally follow the path that leads to a lit
area. Light can also serve as a warning. A flickering light or red-colored
light can serve as an indication of danger.
INSIDE masterfully uses light to attracts the player’s curiosity
14. Use Leading Lines to Direct Player's Attention
Another way you can guide the player is by using leading lines that
naturally occur when the environment is viewed from a certain
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perspective. Being aware of this phenomenon when designing your
levels will make them feel more intuitive to navigate.
Tomb Raider environment design example: this scene encourages the player to
look up. The element that stands out the most is the orange flag that points
upwards. There are also stairs and implied lines that point towards the next
point of interest.
15. Let the Player Breathe
Even the most unforgiving and intense games utilize safe zones.
For example, think of safe rooms in Resident Evil games. They allow
the player to rest, regroup, save game, reorganize the inventory, etc. Even
the most adrenaline-filled action games need the sections where the
player gets to relax. Tension is only exciting when interrupted with
moments of safety, no matter how short they may be.
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Resident Evil series is known for its save rooms. They let the player breathe a
little before plunging back into the adrenaline- filled gameplay.
16. Establish Visual Language
Games rarely benefit from realism. Establish a visual language that
you'll use consistently throughout your game. Both shape and
color can communicate certain information to the player. For example,
in Mirror’s Edge, the red color is used to guide the player through the fast-
paced chase sequences towards the next location.
The red color is used here to help the player navigate the environment and
make quick decisions in the fast-paced sequences.
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f|ther games utilize various shapes and objects to convey
information. For example, Far Cry 4 indicates climbable ledges by
utilizing hanging ropes. Since it's consistent throughout the game, the
player doesn’t have to second-guess if climb action is available, even when
the ledge is viewed from a distance and no UI icon is displayed.
In Far Cry 4, hanging ropes indicate ledges that the player can climb.
17. Avoid Invisible Walls
As a game designer, you want to keep the player within certain
boundaries of the world. Players hate being restricted without a
good reason. The worst thing you can do as a designer is to create
invisible walls that prevent the player from exploring further. Always
have a way of justifying any restriction of movement. Establish a visual
language early on to communicate to the player that they can’t go further.
It could be a steep mountain, a wall with spikes, or anything else that
helps communicate the idea of the word boundaries.
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18. Utilize Familiar Design Ideas
Although games are relatively a new medium, there are design
principles that have become a universal language. While innovation
is the only way indie developers can grow, if you brake certain design
expectations, you’re likely to confuse your players. For example, red
barrels are expected to explode when hit by a bullet. Green herbs are
expected to heal when consumed. Red or green colored bars usually
indicate health, while blue ones indicate mana. Spikes mean danger.
Hearts mean lives. Unless you have a good reason to break well-
established conventions that dominate your genre, try to preserve them
while innovating in other areas that won’t frustrate the players.
While red barrels can be seen as a cliche, they are widely used for a good
reason. They’re easy to spot in the heat of a battle.
19. Make Your Controls Responsive
If your game relies on reflexes and dexterity, you want as little input
lag as possible. Think of reducing frames of animation to the
minimum, so that the player always feels like pressing a button has an
immediate effect. Some game genres, such as horror, benefit from
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clunky controls. It makes the character feel more vulnerable, which is
a desired outcome for the genre. But most games benefit from tight
controls that produce an immediate response. An extreme example is
Darkest Dungeon, where the fight animations are limited to two frames. It
feels extremely satisfying to trigger an attack without animation frames
in between.
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Immediate attack animations feel very responsive.
20. Implement Accessibility Features
When designing your game, think of people with various
impairments. Unless you consider certain design guidelines, they
won’t be able to enjoy your creation. Thankfully, implementing most
accessibility features is not that difficult.
GameAccessibilityGuidelines.com has a comprehensive list of guidelines
that will allow people with motor, cognitive, vision, hearing, and other
impairments to enjoy your game.
100 VIDEO GAME DESIGN TIPS & TRICKS
Settings
Keyboard and Mouse
High Contrast 'X Marks the Spot'
<
On
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Controller
Text Chat in Menus
<
Off
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Gameplay
Toggle Radial Menus
<
On
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Audio Settings
Sticky Radial Items
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On
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Accessibility Settings
Use Virtual Keyboard
<
Off
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Matchmaking Preferences
Reduce hold to interact
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On
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Pirate Profile
Reduce hold to use item
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On
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Crew Management
Escape as Back
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Off
Sea of Thieves offers a wide variety of accessibility settings.
21. Balance Your Game's Difficulty Dynamically
Traditionally, the game’s difficulty can only be changed at the
beginning. Apart from that, the overall difficulty increases as the
player progresses through the game. However, this approach is terribly
flawed, since a first-time player would have no idea what difficulty level
would result in the most engaging experience. Committing to a
difficulty level without knowing how the game plays makes no sense.
Depending on the playefl s skills, the game can feel boring (because it feels
easy) or frustrating (because it’s too hard). There’s a better way to do it.
Take advantage of dynamic game difficulty balancing (DGDB), which is
the process of adjusting the game’s parameters automatically. The game
would dynamically measure player performance and adjust such
parameters as the number of enemies, the complexity of their AI, the
amount of ammunition, etc. Most triple-A titles seem to implement it in
one way or another.
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Left 4 Dead is known to dynamically adjust the number of zombies spawned
depending on the player’s performance.
22. Don’t Trust Yourself When It Conies to
Balancing Your Game
a designer, you’ve played your game too many times. You’ve lost a
xT^sense of the game’s difficulty because you know your game better
than anybody. During playtesting your ideas you’ve acquired skills that
your players won’t have. You can’t trust yourself when it comes to
balancing your game, because you are not your target audience. Your skill
level doesn’t match the skill level of a player who just picked up your game.
Therefore you have to rely on the opinion of alpha and beta testers — trust
them, especially when it comes to balancing your game and its difficulty.
23. Design a Killer Inventory System
There’s a lot to consider when designing an inventory system:
• Players like to have access to the items they use the most
without having to open the full inventory window, so allow
players to access their favorite gear (usually potions, spells, etc.)
instantly, usually with hotkeys (i through 9)
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• As the player finds rare and powerful items, the inventory can
serve as a display of the player's progress in your game. Allow
for the items to be viewed up close. If your game is 3D, allow to
zoom in and move the camera around. It could be fun for the
player to discover hidden details about their most valuable
possessions.
• Try to have a full-body avatar of the protagonist displayed in
the inventory. What can be more satisfying than seeing your
character wear the most powerful armor in the game?
• If your inventory has a capacity limit (or weight limit), it can
add an extra gameplay element of “inventory management.” It
can be quite satisfying to organize gear in the most efficient way
or make difficult decisions when having to choose between two
swords.
The inventory system in “Pillars of Eternity.” Shows a full-body avatar, quick
items area, and allows for some inventory management fun.
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24. Allow the Player to Make Risk vs. Reward
Decisions
Good game design lets the player choose safer or riskier ways of
dealing with challenges. When designing your levels, think of
multiple ways of completing them. They should vary in difficulty and
implied reward, so the player can decide how much risk they want to
take.
Darkest Dungeon constantly keeps the player evaluating risk vs. reward.
Before completing the mission, the player can make a decision to leave the
dungeon unexplored. Doing so reduces the risk, but also leaves potential
rewards behind. The longer the player stays in the dungeon, the higher the risk,
and the higher the reward.
25. Use Camera Shakes
When done right, camera shakes can make your game feel a lot more
impactful. If this is a new concept for you, I highly recommend
watching The Art of Screenshake. a talk by Jan Willem Nijman. If your
game features guns, explosions, and impacts, utilizing camera shakes can
make a big difference.
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26. Make Your Camera a Storyteller
Your game’s camera can be used in a variety of ways. In 3rd person
games, it has the most freedom, as it can move closer or further from
the character and show the action from various angles. Placing the
camera behind the player’s back makes the player concentrate on the
environment. The closer the camera to the character, the more
emotionally engaged the player becomes. Being close to the subject
makes the player identify and empathize with them. The further the
camera from the subject, the less personal it feels. Having the camera
above the character generally makes the player feel more empowered and
in control. Having the camera close to the ground feels unnatural and
creates discomfort. It makes the character appear vulnerable. It’s a
perfect angle if you want to create tension.
Tomb Raider’s designers use close-ups to make the player more emotionally
engaged when Lara is in dangerous situations.
27. Use Camera Effects
Adding lens effects, such as raindrop, dust, blood overlay, can help
make your game feel more realistic. In addition, such post-
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processing effects as field of view, color correction, chromatic
abbreviation, and bloom can significantly increase the visual appeal of
your game.
28. Constantly Introduce New Challenges
To keep the player engaged, you have to constantly invent new
challenges. For example, Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate keeps the player
engaged by alternating between different types of gameplay all the time.
It never gets monotonous, because once the player gets used to the
fighting system, there's a stealth mission that requires an entirely
different approach. Once the player becomes good at stealth, the game
introduces timed horse racing missions. Finally, to switch it up further,
the game alternates between two characters, Jacob and Evie. Switching
between them both during and outside of missions keeps the game fresh.
The player can customize their skill trees differently so that the characters
offer unique gameplay experiences.
Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate constantly throws new challenges at the player. It
keeps the game fresh and engaging.
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29. Use NPC’s or Enemies to Communicate
Important Information
NPC’s or dialog exchanges between enemies can be used to convey
important information to the player. For example, in Himan 2, you
can often overhear enemies talking to each other. They often mention
things that become clues to accomplishing various tasks in a mission.
30. Aim to Create Unique Experiences
As a new game designer, you may want to predict all possible
outcomes of your game, but linearity is not what players tend to like.
Instead, try to create systems that interact with each other and can
produce unexpected results. That's one of the advantages of the brilliant
design behind Spelunky. Apart from complete randomization, Spelunky
has numerous game systems that allow each player to have a completely
unique experience, full of surprises and unexpected interactions.
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31. Make Player's Skill Matter
Design your game so that your player’s skill is a part of the game’s
equation. Many games utilize skill tries that reflect their
protagonist’s growth. One way to overcome a challenging enemy is to get
good gear and make your character drink the potion of strength. There’s
nothing wrong with that design approach. However, what if the video
game was more about your skill as a player, not your character stats?
Games like Cuphead are extremely difficult and unforgiving, but that’s
what makes them fun. They allow the player to enjoy the process of
developing skills to overcome the challenges of the game.
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Cuphead is a difficult game and requires a lot of skill to finish. That's what
makes it so satisfying.
32. Be Careful with Randomization
hen your game heavily relies on Random Number Generator
V V (RNG), you need to come up with a way to restrict it in some way.
For example, if the player has a 90% chance to hit the enemy, the player
expects a hit. However, when using RNG, missing 10 times in a row with
a 90% chance of success is not impossible. It’s unlikely, but it’s bound to
happen sooner or later. It would surely feel as if the game is rigged against
the player, so it’s something you might want to avoid. There are ways to
apply restrictions to the RNG algorithm, and most games do it. For
example, you could prevent the RNG from generating the same outcome
more than 3 times in a row. It’s a simple solution of course; it can get a lot
more complicated in RPG and strategy games that rely on randomization.
The developers of XCOM: Enemy Unknown faced a backlash from their
community when the players discovered that often the character would miss
multiple times in a row while chances of hitting the target were high.
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33. Make your Game Feel Fair
Following the previous tip, the goal of a game designer is to create the
perception of fairness, not true fairness. Many games try to help the
player without making it obvious. For example, in Bioshock, first shot from
an enemy against you always misses. While it’s technically unfair, it gives
the player the time to take cover and reassess the situation. If enemies
could kill you before you even spot them, it would certainly feel unfair,
wouldn’t it? Following realism rarely makes for a good gaming
experience.
In Bioshock, the first bullets that an enemy fires will always miss.
34. Create High Stakes
Game designers know that high stakes and risky play result in more
fun. However, most players would always choose slow and careful
playstyle to maximize their chances of success. The designers of XCOM:
Enemy Unknown were surprised to learn that most players progressed
through the levels very cautiously, using the overwatch action repeatedly.
Realizing that such playstyle results in a relatively boring experience, the
designers introduced a lot more timed missions in the XCOM 2. Timed
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missions forced the players to act faster and take more risks. While it
made for more exciting gameplay, many players were dissatisfied with
enforcing a more risky playstyle.
XCOM 2 introduced timed missions because the designers realized that
playing it safe results in boring gameplay. They wanted the players to engage
in a more risky playstyle.
35- Create the Perception (?) of High Stakes
If introducing high stakes is not something you want to do, consider
creating the perception of risk. Jennifer Scheurle, a video game
designer, revealed on Twitter:
Assassin’s Creed and Doom value the last hit of health as more hit points
than the rest of it to encourage a feeling of '’JUST* surviving.
Needless to say, the feeling of “barely making it” is very thrilling,
because it feels so unlikely. It's no wonder that game designers figured
out a way to increase the likelihood of it happening. If your game utilizes
a health bar, consider making the last bits of health allow for taking more
hits than the player would think.
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“JUST” surviving it in Assassin’s Creed.
36. Let the Player Feel the Impact of Their Actions
Make the world respond accordingly to the player’s actions. If the
player accomplishes something great, let the NPC’s say a few
words about their actions. If the player gets caught stealing, make the
shop owner react appropriately and call the guards. You get the idea.
In GTA V pedestrians react appropriately when the player pulls out a gun.
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37- Aim to Create a “Flow State”
According to the Flow Theory, it's a state in which the player is fully
immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and
enjoyment in the process of the activity. Needless to say, as a game
designer, it’s a state that you want your players to be while playing your
game. According to the theory proposed by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, flow
is a state that lies between boredom and anxiety. If your game becomes
too easy, your player will feel bored and exit the flow state. If your game
becomes too difficult, the frustration and anxiety will break the
immersion and enjoyment. As a game designer, your job is to keep the
player right in between boredom and anxiety: the state in which the
player is fully immersed in the experience.
38. Create Memorable Moments
Memorable moments are usually achieved by contrast. If you want
the player to remember something about your game, make it very
different from the rest of the gameplay. It could be a contrasting scene in
terms of the overall mood, color, and atmosphere. One of the most
memorable moments from The Last of Us 1 for me was the scene with the
giraffes. It was so unexpected and wholesome. It made me care for the
characters a lot more. It was a spark of hope, or rather a reminder of
normal life and beauty in the grim and hopeless world.
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This was the moment I realized how effective “The Last of Us i” was at
controlling the player’s emotions. This scene made me feel so many things.
39- Make AI Behavior Complex, But Predictable
If your AI were to be completely realistic, there would be no way to
predict how enemies would react to the player’s actions. Giving the
player the ability to anticipate how the enemies would respond is
necessary to achieving compelling gameplay. For example, Watch Dogs 2
allows the player to attract the attention of the enemies by planting lures
on surfaces. In reality, not every guard would move towards a lure. Some
would be suspicious. Others would investigate other areas suspecting it
could be a trap. If the game were to be realistic, it would be hardly
playable. That’s why you should keep the AI behavior completely
predictable, no matter how complex it is.
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Watch Dogs 2: The player is getting ready to plant a lure on the wall to attract
the attention of the guard. It’s behavior the player can anticipate with 100%
certainty. It’s that certainty that allows the player to create plans and strategies
when tackling a mission.
40. Remind the Player How Powerful They've
Become Since the Game Started
In combat driven games, the player grows stronger and acquires more
powerful gear as the game progresses. Needless to say, the game would
quickly become boring if enemies didn’t become stronger as well, to
match the player's new stats and gear. If the game increases the enemy’s
strength and HP at the same rate as the player increases theirs, the player
would never get to feel powerful. That’s why it’s a good idea to bring back
weaker enemies from time to time, to remind the player that they’ve
become powerful since the beginning of their journey.
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In Skyrim, you can be a high-level character with the best gear and still
encounter weak enemies. Killing them effortlessly reminds you of how much
you've achieved since the beginning of the game, which feels satisfying.
41. Allow the Player to Make Decisions Based
on Morality
If the player carefully considers the moral implications of their actions
in your video games, you've done something right. Taking morality
into account when playing a game indicates a high level of
engagement and emotional attachment. If you want your players to
incorporate their personal moral views into their playstyle, it’s important
that moral decisions don’t have serious gameplay implications. For
example, if “being good” is the way to gain more XP or gold, the player
will always choose good actions over bad ones. It would be for the
wrong reasons though, and in no way does it express the player’s
moral compass.
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Papers, Please constantly challenges the player’s morality, as they work as an
immigration inspector at the border of the fictional dystopia of Arstotzka. The
decision made by the player affect the story but don’t give any significant
gameplay advantage or disadvantage.
Another way to approach it is to make the moral choices made by the
player affect the gameplay. In this scenario, it’s important to balance the
consequences of both paths, so neither becomes more advantageous
than the other.
Frostpunk allows the player to create laws and make decisions that have moral
consequences. They affect the gameplay in significant ways, yet no law is
objectively more beneficial than the other.
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42. Implement Ledge Forgiveness
It’s especially important in the platformer genre. Many platformers
allow the player to perform a jump right after they started falling off
the ledge. Also known as ledge forgiveness, grace period jumping, or
simply coyote time. Allow your players to perform a jump once the player
is off the ledge. Needless to say, set a time limit for ledge forgiveness. A
fraction of a second should be about right.
Rayman is about to take advantage of the coyote time and perform a jump
when technically there’s no ground underneath his feet.
43- Perfect Your Run
Every run animation consists of three parts:
1. Acceleration from idle to run
2. Run
3. Deceleration to back to idle
Depending on the genre, you should think about how much time the
acceleration and deceleration take place. If your game is a platformer
or an adventure game where locomotion plays a big part, this is
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something you want to spend a lot of time tweaking. Game Maker’s
Toolkit has a great video covering this topic. Decreasing the time
acceleration and deceleration takes would make locomotion feel snappier
and tighter. If you overdo it, it will feel stiff. If transitioning from idle to
run and the other way around takes a significant number of frames, your
locomotion would feel sloppy and imprecise.
Super Meat Boy is known for tight controls. Analyze how long it takes for the
character to go from idle to run and from run to idle.
44. Allow Control During Jump
Taking away control during jump feels terribly unresponsive, so allow
the player to change the direction of the jump while in the air. The
player should also have control over the jump velocity, so they can aim for
the desired landing spot.
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Jumping in Celeste feels phenomenal. If you’re making a platformer, you
should analyze how it’s implemented in Celeste.
45- Use Input Jump Buffer
Games usually detect when the character is grounded. That allows for
disabling jumping when the character is in the mid-air. Naturally,
jumping should only be allowed when the character is grounded, at least
if you’re aiming to simulate reality in some way. However, what if the
player hits the jump button right before landing? The jump wouldn’t
execute, which would feel terrible. Sometimes just a single frame would
make the character qualify as airborne instead of grounded, which would
make pressing the jump button ignored. Needless to say, that would feel
unresponsive and annoying to the player. That’s why you need to listen
for input as the character is about to land and be ready to execute the
action stored in the buffer as soon as the character touches the ground.
46. Decide on Your Character Personality
hat are the traits of your protagonist? Is your protagonist fast or
slow? Are they powerful or weak? The traits of your character will
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ultimately determine what they will look like. Apply the traits you come
up with to your sketches and try to communicate the character's
personality through visual means.
When designing Lloyd, the protagonist of my game “DARQ,” it was important
to me to express that he is vulnerable, fearful, gentle, lost, scared, and other
things that I can’t mention to keep this example spoiler-free.
47. Make Your Character Small
After you design a character, you naturally want to make it read well
in the game. If you're designing a platformer or a game that
requires precise movement, make your character small. The smaller the
character, the less your camera needs to move. If your camera is static or
barely moves at all, it becomes a lot easier to control the character with
high precision within the scene. All good platformers have this in
common: the protagonist is very small compared to the world.
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Celeste’s protagonist Madeline is tiny compared to the rest of the world.
Thanks to her size, the camera doesn’t need to move a lot. In some sections of
the game, the camera is completely static.
48. Design Recognizable Characters
Don’t be afraid to exaggerate features to create memorable and
recognizable characters. A good character design prioritizes
simplicity of shape with unique recognizable features. If you want to
test your character design, turn it into a black silhouette. If it still reads
well and is recognizable, you’ve done a good job as a designer.
Iconic characters from Journey and Shovel Knight read well as silhouettes.
They still look distinct and recognizable.
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49- Make Your Character Stand Out
It’s important to make your character stand out from the rest of the
scene. In my own game, DARQ, I chose to make the protagonist
receive more light than other objects. It allows him to stand out, no
matter how dark the environment is. There are also other ways you can
make your protagonist stand out from the background. Making the
character wear a piece of clothing that is colored differently than the rest
of the world would do the trick too.
DARQ’s protagonist reads well even in the dark environments thanks to the
additional light it receives.
50. Fast Respawns & Incremental Progress
If you're designing a game in which the character is meant to die often,
otherwise known as a rage game, make sure you implement fast
respawns. This way, death is not perceived as a harsh punishment but as
a part of the learning process. Utilize frequent checkpoints, so the
player never has to repeat large sections of the game. Fast respawns
allow for incremental progress, where deaths serve to educate the player
about the level.
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Super Meat Boy is a challenging game, but frequent deaths don’t feel overly
punishing thanks to instant respawns. Leaving bloodstains on the walls is a
smart design choice, which further emphasizes the concept of incremental
progress: you get through the game by dying a lot and learning from the
mistakes of the previous incarnations of the protagonist.
51. Implement Autosave
One way you can help your player is to autosave the progress when
the player achieved a significant milestone or simply when they
reached a new location. You will save your player a lot of frustration if the
game happens to crash for whatever reason.
52. Focus on One Core Emotion
our game’s core emotion should be easy to identify within
X seconds. The core emotion will become the primary reason a player
would want to engage with your game. As a gamer, don’t you play titles
that reflect your current mood, or help you balance your life in a certain
way? Feeling overwhelmed with daily life? Why not escape to the relaxing
world of Stardew Valley ? Looking for a challenge? Why not try to speedrun
Hollow Knight or Cuphead ? Feeling like a quick session filled with joy and
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fun? You could reach for Mario Kart or other Nintendo IP's. In other
words, if your game’s core emotion is unclear, your audience won’t be
able to easily relate to it.
Mario Kart is very clear about its core emotion: it’s fun! Every design choice is
made to reinforce this core emotion.
53- Communicate What Enemies Are Thinking
This is especially important in games that have stealth mechanics. As
you trying to sneak past enemies, you want to know how close you’re
to being detected. Stealth games accomplish this in various ways. You
could use a UI system that indicates how close you are to being
detected or a dialog system in which the enemy would say: "huh?” as
you make a noise. Either way, it’s important to communicate to the
player what the enemy is thinking.
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In Mark of the Ninja, the player is given all the necessary information about
the state of the game through the use of UI. In the screenshot above, the yellow
circle indicates where the player was heard by the guard. The question mark
above the guard indicates that he heard the player and is about to investigate.
The Z’s coming out of the dog’s head indicate that the dog is asleep and did not
hear the player.
54- Utilize Granular Failure States
he concept of granular failure states refers to letting your player
X mess up without making them suffer the entirety of the
consequences at once. Making a mistake would result in partial
punishment with the ability to recover/hide/escape/or handle the
situation in a different way. For example, this principle could be used in
stealth games. Getting detected should not result in immediate death,
but rather forcing the player to run, hide, or risk fighting countless
guards. Granular failure is handled perfectly in the Metal Gear Solid series,
where getting spotted results in partial punishment (increased risk of
death), but still allows the player to handle the situation in a variety of
ways. This principle is used in a variety of games, even those not involving
stealth, like the GTA series.
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In GTA V, there is five stars' worth of wanted level. Getting caught red-handed
results in one star only, so the player has a high chance of escaping. As the
wanted level increases, the player’s chances of avoiding death are increasing.
55- Forget About Your Ego.
Don’t try to show off your game design skills to the player. If you
do your job right, your game design decisions will be noticeable to
the player. At the same time, a part of your job is to make the player
feel good about their skills. Allow them to show off what they can do with
your game. Make it a means of expression for them, not you.
56. Use Power-Ups
hether it’s a flower in Super Mario Brothers or a potion in Pillars of
V V Eternity, power-ups are an important design element of many
game genres. If you’re utilizing power-ups in your game, consider the
following:
• Do the effects of the power-ups stack up, or one cancels the other?
Be careful if you allow the player to reach incredible stats by
drinking 10 strength potions in a row. That can result in very
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imbalanced gameplay. Consider implementing limitations to
prevent abusing power-ups.
• Does the player know when the effects of the power-ups wear off?
How does the game communicate it? Make sure the player knows
when the power-up stops working.
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Power-ups that the player can pick up in “Mario Kart.” Please note, only one
power-up can be held at a time.
57- Use Knowledge as In-Game Currency
Learning about your game should feel satisfying to the player. In this
presentation. Jonathan Blow talks about his experience playing the
game iooi Spikes. The game seems incredibly difficult, at first. While
progressing through the first level, however, the player learns that the
challenges that seemed nearly impossible are actually not that difficult at
all. The difficulty of the game changes when the player makes a series
of discoveries about the level. The design of iooi Spikes impressed
Jonathan, as he used a similar principle in his hit puzzle game The
Witness.
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In The Witness, the player stumbles upon an extremely hard puzzle right after
the tutorial area. At this point, the player lacks the knowledge to solve it.
However, as the player learns more and more about various puzzle designs in
the game, it later becomes possible to come back and solve it.
58. Trigger Player's Curiosity
The example above showcases how acquiring knowledge can result in
satisfying gameplay. But it does more: it triggers the player's
curiosity from the get-go. Seeing a complex puzzle shows the player how
much there is to explore and learn in the game, and this happens early on.
Letting the player know that your game has a lot to offer is a good,
design practice, and it's used a lot in different game genres. Seeing big
skill tries at the beginning of the game triggers curiosity about everything
that is available in the game. “Look, there's so much to experience and
unlock!”
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Civilization series show the player how much there is to unlock early on in the
game. It serves as a promise. It tells the player that there’s so much to explore
in the game, even though it might seem that there isn’t much to do when the
game starts.
59- Make Grinding Meaningful
A game would be considered “grind/’ if it requires taking a lot of
repetitive actions in order to progress. An example of grinding
would be killing weak enemies to slowly gain XP and level up. Grinding,
as a game design idea, is not inherently bad. In some cases, when done
right, it can become a powerful tool to keep the players engaged and
immersed in your game. In order to make grinding feel meaningful,
the player needs to know what reward awaits them at the end of the
grind. Leveling up, unlocking new skills, spells, locations, story elements,
and other rewards can be a powerful motivator. In other words, there
needs to be an end goal to grinding. If your game focuses on excessive
repetition of certain activities, you need to communicate to the player
what the reward would be.
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In Minecraft, players feel motivated to “grind,” or in other words, spend a lot of
time breaking blocks in search of diamond ore. Why? Because diamond ore can
be used to craft some of the most powerful tools in the game.
6o. Don’t Rely on Words To Tell The Story
Instead, make your world do it for you. It’s a lot more intriguing to have
the playing wonder “what does that mean?” instead of having an NPC
explain it with words. Make level design a means of storytelling that
guides your players through your game’s narrative.
INSIDE: Seeing people marching in a zombie-like fashion raises a lot of
questions. It also gives a clear sense of the world the player is in. There’s no
need for words. The game tells you everything you need to know.
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61. Have All Elements Work Together
To make your game immersive, you need to strive to make all
elements of the game work together in unison. For example,
Darkest Dungeon accomplishes this masterfully. Every aspect of this
game works together to evoke the unified vision of showing the player the
emotional toll of dungeon crawling. The overall mood is pessimistic and
dark. The art design alone is enough to convey the game's core emotion.
It's worn and somber, featuring hand-painted characters with an
abundance of thick black lines and shadows. It helps support the idea of
the psychological damage the heroes endure as a result of your greed-
driven orders. Notice that after a successful mission, the comeback to
town is accompanied by grim music. The lack of checkpoints and
permadeath during missions makes the stakes high, and your chances of
making it through feel low.
All elements of The Darkest Dungeon work together in unison.
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62. Make Your Game Fun to Watch
Chances are that more people will watch your game on YouTube or
Twitch than play it. Think about it when making design choices.
What makes games fun to watch?
• Beautiful visuals: players might not have the time to enjoy all the
work that was put in the visuals, but the beauty of the
environment will surely be noticed by those who watch others play
the game.
• Good Story & Plot Twists: people love seeing strong reactions of
YouTubers and streamers. An interesting story with a lot of plot
twists provides great entertainment value, both for the player and
the audience. People who watch game playthroughs enjoy the
feeling of comradery that happens between the streamer and their
audience. Going on a journey together and experiencing all its
twists as a group is an exciting experience.
• Jump Scares: audiences love seeing their favorite YouTubers and
streamers get jump scared. Experiencing danger from afar, in a
safe environment, without participating directly, provides a lot of
entertainment value.
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‘The Last of Us” is full ofbeautiful visuals, has an amazing story, and is filled
with exciting action sequences. It makes for a fantastic viewing experience.
63. Use Sound to Bring Your Game To Life
Sound, design might be unnoticeable when done right, but when
done badly, it can ruin your game. Make sure the reverb settings
match your environment. Come up with a way to cut off high frequencies
of sounds that are blocked by an obstacle, like a wall. That can usually be
accomplished with the use of raycasts. Sounds that are far from the player
(or camera) would usually have a longer reverb tail and not as much low
and high frequencies. The closer the player gets to the sound source, the
more detailed it should be (i.e. less reverb, more high frequencies, etc.).
Constantly check the attenuation for your sound effects, whether your
game is 2D or 3D. Sometimes realism is not the only factor to consider,
but if you want your world to feel believable, good sound design can help
you bring it to life.
64. Don’t Overuse Minimaps
Minimaps can be helpful when navigating large worlds, but they can
become the point of focus during most of your gameplay. What a
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waste, with all the detailed 3D graphics rendered in real-time, the
gameplay comes down to looking at a simplified 2D representation of
what’s actually happening. If your game relies heavily on the use of a
minimap, consider giving your players the option to disable it. Some
players are looking for an immersive experience where they have to
interact with NPC’s and memorize the environment in order to
navigate through the world.
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Watch Dogs 2: The minimap shows a lot of information. It can make it difficult
to feel immersed in the beautifully rendered 3D world when you have to focus
on the simplified 2D representation of it most of the time.
65. Design Your Maps Correctly
If you have to have a mini-map, consider having a full-size map too,
which would provide more details about the environment. Here are
some thoughts to consider when creating maps:
• Use icons to indicate important locations, quests, and other
points of interest
• Include a legend, so your players can easily tell what map icons
mean.
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• Indicate inaccessible areas in some way. The player should know
which areas can be explored and which areas are purely decorative
(like mountains).
• When viewing the map in full size, use a large icon to indicate
player’s position. It should be the most noticeable icon since
that’s the first bit of information the player would need when
viewing the map. Also, don’t forget to show which direction the
player is facing.
• Allow the player to add markers, which should be also visible on
the mini-map, to help guide them towards where they want to go.
Rise of the Tomb Raider: full-size map. The icons provide a lot of useful
information. Also, please note: the map clearly indicates which areas are
accessible and which ones are not.
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66. Pause the Game When Large UI Screens
Are Open
You may want to pause the game when the full-size map and other
large UI elements are open, such as quest journal, and maybe even
inventory (it might be a game design choice not to pause the game while
the inventory is open. Baldur’s Gate series was famous for that approach).
67. Restrict Fast Travel in Open World Games
What’s the point of building open worlds filled with content if
the player has the ability to teleport to any spot? The whole
point of open-world games is exploration, while fast travel takes that
pleasure away. When the player is given a choice between the more or
less efficient way of completing a task, they would surely choose the more
efficient way, even if it results in less fun. While getting rid of fast travel
all together might not be the best game design solution, fast travel can be
restricted and used as a reward. For example, fast travel requires
unlocking a location in the Far Cry series. Another way to enforce at least
some exploration is to increase the distance between the points to which
the player can fast travel. This would introduce a sense of balance
between the beauty of exploration and the efficiency of navigating a large
world.
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Far Cry 4: Fast travel becomes available as a reward after the outpost is
liberated.
68. Reward Player’s Curiosity
Players love to stray off the path and explore. It’s usually
disappointing when the exploration doesn’t lead to a satisfying
discovery or a reward. Try to create optional paths and locations that are
not essential to finishing your game but provide a nice distraction from
the main quest. Make sure to reward the players who display curiosity and
explore your game in non-obvious ways.
Pillars of Eternity has a location called Endless Paths of Od Nua. It’s a giant 15-
level dungeon full of powerful monsters, challenging puzzles, and rewards.
Only the first level needs to be explored. The rest of the levels are optional and
it’s a great way to satisfy the players who want to do more than just complete
the main quest.
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69. Foreshadow Danger
A boss fight would not be as thrilling if the boss didn't show up several
times before the actual fight. Making use of cutscenes, scripted
events, and other means of foreshadowing of what's coming creates
excitement and anticipation.
In Resident Evil 2 remake, Mr. X appears way before the final confrontation in
which he can be defeated. The game constantly reminds the player of the
impending danger, which creates a lot of tension and anticipation before the
actual boss fight.
70. Use Size to Communicate Danger
If your game has enemies of any sort, use size to communicate to
the player how dangerous the enemies are to the player. Enemies
that are shorter than the player are automatically perceived as weaker.
Those that match the protagonist's height are seen as equal (unless they
have added visual cues, like a powerful armor). Bigger enemies get the
player's attention the most, as we're condition to perceive taller creatures
as more dangerous.
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Shadow of the Colossus uses size difference to communicate danger
71. Make Your Enemies’ Behavior Unique
Making enemies feel unique involves not only the looks but also
their behavior. Make sure your enemies have different
personalities/behaviors to make them feel unique and interesting to
the player. Your enemies can differ in how aggressive they are towards
the player (how long does it take before they stop chasing the player and
return to their idle state?), how aggressive they become when attacked
(would they risk their lives when their health falls below a certain point or
would they try to escape?). Would they attack the player when
unprovoked? How close would the player need to get for the enemy to
attack? Your enemies can also differ in their speed, attack range, blocking
skills, health. They can act more bravely and aggressively in groups than
one. The possibilities are endless.
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In the classic “Pac Man/’ each ghost has a unique personality and unique
behavior. Some players might have never realized that, but each enemy was
programmed to have unique movement patterns. That’s what made the game
fun — learning the enemy’s behaviors allowed for more strategic gameplay.
72. Respect Your Players’ Time
Try to make every minute of your game count. Don’t overuse
backtracking to extend your game’s length and avoid reusing
ideas without putting a new twist on them. Players have a lot of games
to play in their backlog. You should give them a good reason to spend their
time on yours.
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INSIDE might be a short game, but it never overstays its welcome. The player
is introduced to new ideas and story hints every step of the way. And when the
game begins to feel repetitive, there’s a giant twist that makes you say “wow.” If
you played it, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, stop reading
this article and go play this game!
73. Make Backtracking Interesting
If you end up having to use some backtracking in your level design,
try to make it interesting to the player. It’s important that the player
doesn’t feel like it’s wasted time. You can still add new content to the
environments that have been explored before. For example, in the first
level of my game DARQ the player has to find three gears. Once the third
gear is found, the player needs to return to the beginning of the level to
activate a machine that opens the gate. There’s a twist though (spoiler
alert): getting the third gear disables electricity and switches off the
lights. Now the player needs to backtrack in darkness. Not only that but
switching off the lights attracts enemies that the player needs to sneak
past.
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DARQ: backtracking introduces new challenges (enemies) and makes the
environment look different (change in lighting).
74- Be Conservative with Innovation
There are certain established conventions when it comes to various
systems, like inventory, stealth, AI, quests, dialogs, fighting, etc. If
you innovate too much and break all the player's expectations, your game
will be unintuitive to play. Don't get me wrong, you should absolutely aim
to innovate, but don’t overdo it. Instead, add a twist to a familiar genre,
or innovate within a familiar set of game design principles. For example,
Braid is a puzzle-platformer with a twist: you can rewind time
indefinitely. Super Hot is a first-person shooter with a twist: time moves
only when you move.
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Super Hot introduces just one innovation to the established game design
principles of the first-person shooter genre. One is enough. It makes for a great
hook. It’s memorable, fun, and easy to understand.
75- Keep Controls as Simple as Possible
Try to simplify your controls as much as possible. It will allow the
players to learn how to play your game fast.
In LIMBO, the controls are limited to movement, jumping, and action buttons.
76. Design Good In-Game Economy
If you have in-game currency, you have to be smart about how it’s used
in the world you’re building. Try not to overpower the player by
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making them rich too quickly, but also use in-game money to reward the
player as they make progress in your game. Most importantly, have a lot
of items available for sale, so the player has a lot of things to spend money
on. Choosing what is the best thing to buy is an equivalent of reading
hundreds of reviews on Amazon to decide what is the best product — it
feels good.
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In Stardew Valley you can see what money can buy way before you can afford
those items (like the backpack). Additionally, new items are added to the stores
as the player gets richer in the game.
77- Make the Best Items Impossible to Buy
After all, you want to encourage your players to explore the game, not
just focus on acquiring in-game currency, right? The best way to
motivate the player to explore dangerous areas filled with monsters is to
get better items — something that one cannot buy in stores.
X O 0 VIDEO GAME DESIGN TIPS & TRICKS
In “Skyrim,” Daedric Armor can only be acquired by looting tough enemies or
smithing. It cannot be purchased.
78. Design Smart Puzzles
Good puzzle design involves presenting clear and simple rules and
challenging the player to find a solution within the given rules &
limitations. It should never be the case that the player doesn't know
what to do. A good puzzle should make that clear from the get-go. The
question that the player needs to find the answer to is how to do it.
Figuring out the “how” element is incredibly rewarding and satisfying.
On the other hand, solving a puzzle without understanding its rules by
trial and error is not satisfying.
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The Witness by Jonathan Blow teaches you the rules behind multiple kinds of
puzzles. You're never confused about "what to do.” It's always about the "how.”
79. Design Fair Timed Puzzles
One of the ways you can introduce a bit of excitement to your
game is to have your player solve a puzzle within certain time
constraints. For example, performing a set of actions before the ceiling
collapses or figuring a way out of a building before it burns down. Keep
the following in mind when designing such puzzles:
• The puzzle objective should be clear before or right after the time
restriction is introduced
• The time designated for solving the puzzle should be tight, but
allow the player to make mistakes.
• To increase excitement, consider ending the puzzle with the
"barely made it” sequence. In
• other words, even if the player manages to solve the puzzle fast,
the dangerous outcome the player was trying to avoid happens
right after the player succeeded (i.e. the ceiling collapses just as
the player solves the puzzles, or the building explodes just as the
player manages to find the way out).
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8o. Design Puzzles That Fit into the Setting
In the book Level Up, Scott Rogers argues that it's relatively easy to
throw a random puzzle into a game. It's much harder to make it a part
of the story, or at least fit into the environment. Is opening a container in
an abandoned hospital with a set of 5 golden emblems really makes sense?
Wouldn't a key be a more believable way to open a container? Unless your
game is set in an abstract world, putting puzzles that don't belong in the
environment breaks immersion.
Resident Evil 2 remake features a puzzle that requires using chess pieces to
open the sewers door. The puzzle is quite abstract, while it’s set in a realistic
setting.
81. Don’t Let Realism Get in The Way of Fun
Admittedly, this is a contradiction to the advice mentioned above.
Realism rarely adds to the enjoyment of playing video games.
More often than not, it gets in the way of playability. As a game designer,
you should always make decisions that prioritize fun over realism.
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82. Design a Satisfying Win State
When the player wins a battle, completes a quest, or finishes the
game, make sure to reward them with visual and audible cues.
To this day I remember how satisfying it felt to win a battle in Heroes
III. It was a game of my childhood. The feel-good music, the sound
effects, and the stats panel that showed how much experience I gained
are forever engraved in my memory.
A glorious victory!
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83. Design an Effective Failure State
The failure state shouldn’t be too long, so it doesn’t feel
discouraging and overly punishing to the player. Adding variety to
the failure state can soften the ego blow and turn failures into an effective
motivator to continue. For example, Limbo is known for countless ways
the player can die. While the game is dark and atmospheric, dying over
and over again in various ways proved to be an effective way to keep
players engaged, wanting to try again and overcome the challenges.
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One of the ways you can die in Limbo.
84. Be Smart About Procedural Generation
Procedural generation is a great solution to filling your game with
unlimited content, which ensures endless hours of gameplay.
More often than not, however, procedural generation results in bland
content that quickly gets boring. Not many games manage to get
procedural generation right. There are many ways to approach this topic.
Spelunhy is known for masterfully implementing procedural generation.
Its algorithm is surprisingly not overly complicated, but extremely
elegant. The beauty of procedural generation is that players would never
know what rules are at play when the environment is generated. While
procedural generation is hard to get right, try not to overcomplicate
things if not necessary. Spelunhy manages to generate environments that
feel well designed, and it's because it splits them into smaller chunks,
each governed by a set of rules. While this approach might not be
applicable to all genres, Spelunhy is worth researching and analyzing
if you’re making a game that utilizes procedural generation.
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Spelunky is known for its spectacular procedural generation algorithm.
Research it if you want to learn how the game manages to create satisfying
caves that don't feel generic or boring.
85. Make Use of Predesigned Elements
If you’re using procedural generation, don’t forget that you have the
freedom to add predesigned elements to your algorithm. In fact,
you can create a lot of predesigned "building blocks” and use them in your
procedurally generated world. Mixing predesigned blocks and areas that
are procedurally generated from scratch can help create the illusion that
the entirety of the game was designed by a human hand. You can even go
one step further and create levels using predesigned areas only. You just
have to have enough of them to achieve a high level of variety in the
generated worlds. I might be wrong about this, but I'm guessing that the
procedural generation of Descenders relies mostly on predesigned
elements.
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Descenders is a downhill freeriding game with procedurally generated worlds.
86. Keep Object Scale Realistic
If your game is set in a realistic environment, make sure that your
assets are scaled properly. For example:
• Interior walls are usually 4.5 inches thick.
• Exterior walls are usually over 5 inches thick.
• The average doorway height is about 8o inches.
• The average story height is about 14 feet.
You can easily find this kind of information online. Whatever 3D
modeling software you’re using, make sure you stick to the realistic scale
of the environment (as long as it’s your goal).
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87. Strive for Challenge Over Difficulty
he difference might seem subtle, but designing your game to be
X difficult focuses on punishing the player as they try to interact with
it. On the other hand, a challenging game teaches the player how to
overcome the obstacles by guiding the player through the process of
improving their skill.
88. Add Easter Eggs
Once your game is finished and polished, consider adding Easter
Eggs, or simply, secrets. Players love to discover things that are
rare. It could be a secret object hidden somewhere in the world, a rare
encounter, a collectible that doesn't quite belong in the game but has
some significance, etc.
An Easter Egg in GTA V
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89. Reward the Player For Finishing The Game
Rewarding the player for making progress in the game is one of
the pillars of game design. What about the ultimate achievement:
finishing the game? What is there you could do to reward the players for
playing your game from start to finish? Think of unlockable costumes,
characters, mini-games, concept art, or other things that could make the
player feel that the whole journey was worth it.
90. Make a Good HUD If You Need One
HUD, also known as a heads-up display, is a way to communicate
a variety of information about the state of the game to the
player. For example, your HUD can contain information about your
protagonist’s health, ammo, currently held item, etc. Don’t overload your
HUD with information though. Ideally, you want to communicate as
much information through the gameplay itself, not icons and text.
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“Assassin’s Creed Syndicate” HUD elements: mini-map, health, current
objective, control hints, selected weapon.
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91. Make Your HUD Contextual
void making the screen crowded with HUD icons. Only show
xT^information that is relevant to what is happening. For example, the
player doesn't need to know how much ammo they have if their gun is not
drawn. They don't need to know how many health bars they have left if
they're interacting with an NPC and are not in danger of being attacked.
In other words, aim to make your HUD contextual and only show the
most relevant information. Here's an example: Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate
shows HUD elements before the action is performed, and hides it while
the action is performed.
HUD ELEMENTS PRESENT
HUD ELEMENTS HIDDEN WHEN ACTION IS PERFORMED
92. Consider Implementing Aim Assist
Many games have a targeting reticule that helps with aiming. Aim
Assist is a common feature in first-person shooters. It is meant
to make aiming easier by making the targeting reticule gravitate
towards the enemy. The Aim Assist algorithm makes an assumption as
to what target the player is trying to aim at and snaps the reticule to that
target. That can make aiming a lot easier and make the game feel better,
especially when using a controller. Not every player likes using Aim Assist,
so make it optional.
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Gears of War 5, like many other FPS games, allows Aim Assist mode.
93. Allow for Skipping Cutscenes
Some players like watching long cutscenes, others want to get
straight to the gameplay and don't care about the story. Luckily, in
this case, it’s easy to please everyone. There’s absolutely no reason for
you to force the player to watch a cutscene. When it comes to the story,
try to convey the most important story elements through gameplay.
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Max Payne 3 is infamous for having unskippable cutscenes. While some of the
cutscenes might have been used while the game was loading, there’s no reason
to keep the cutscenes unskippable after loading was done.
94. Allow for Skipping Credits
This one should be obvious, yet there are still games that don’t
allow the player to skip the credit roll. There’s absolutely no
reason to do this. I’m all for having a credit roll and honoring the people
who participated in the creation of a game. After all, my game has a credit
roll too and I appreciate it when YouTubers and Streamers take the time
to listen to the music and reflect on the game’s meaning while watching
the names roll by. You’ve got to give the player a choice though. Some
simply want to go back to the start menu, and that's OK too.
Aikei Corporation. Inc.
Aoshima Bunka Kyozai. Inc.
Aoyagiutrou Co.. Ltd.
ASCII MEDIA WORKS. Inc.
Always Pleasant Amenity Hotel. Inc.
EAT & CO , Ltd.
Irios. Inc
Ishimuramanseido Co.. Ltd.
Yakuza 5 credit roll lasts over 10 minutes and there’s no way to skip.
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95- Consider Using Action Icons
Otherwise known as context-sensitive prompts, they allow the
player to distinguish between interactive and non-interactive
objects. Most commonly, when approaching an object, an icon would
appear, which indicates that the object can be interacted with. It can be
accompanied by text, indicating what the action is. Depending on the
genre, it may or may not be a good idea. In my game DARQ, given how
detailed the environment is, I felt it was important to give the player a
hint when they approached an object that allowed for interaction.
That little circle on the middle mirror indicates that the player can interact
with this object. When the player approaches the mirror, the circle expands
into an actual icon that indicates what type of interaction is available.
96. Provide Immediate Feedback
Whatever the player is trying to do, try to provide some kind of
feedback. No action should leave the world of the game
unchanged. If the player tries to hit the wall, make some dust particles
appear. If the player collects a power-up, indicate it with a sound and a
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special animation. Never leave the player wondering if something has
happened or hasn’t happened. Make sure to show the effect of the player's
actions as clearly as possible.
Picking up items in Stardew Valley is always accompanied by a satisfying
sound and a quick animation. Not only does it feel clear, but it also feels
rewarding and satisfying.
97. Color Palette
Make your color palette pleasing and consistent throughout the
game. If you don’t have a good feel for it, use one of the tools that
make creating color palettes a breeze. My favorite is Color Wheel by
Adobe, but there are other tools, such as Coolors.co. Colormind.io.
The/ re all free.
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“GRIS” uses a variety of color palettes. Each level is breathtaking when it comes
to the use of color.
98. Reuse Your Game Systems
Don’t spend time on making game systems that aren’t utilized
enough during gameplay. If climbing is a part of your
character’s skill set, you’ve got to come up with multiple ways of using
it throughout the game. If a system is used just a couple of times, it’s not
worth having. Building a climbing system is a complicated task that
involves a lot of coding, animation, and inverse kinematics. You have to
justify the time spent on building a complex system by finding creative
ways of reusing it repeatedly. The challenge lies in inventing new ways of
using the system. You can use climbing to get to a high platform, descend
to a lower platform, etc. You can also use it in the chase, escape, or stealth
sequences. You can build entire levels around it, where climbing is
combined with other skills, like shooting or jumping. That’s just a few
examples — you get the idea.
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Uncharted 4: climbing system (used in a variety of ways throughout the game)
99- Introduce Variety to Your Gameplay
To combat boredom that naturally results from reusing game
mechanics and game assets (which you should do), you need to come
up with ways to introduce variety to your gameplay. Avoid linear level
design. Allow players to explore the environment. Create multiple paths
to reach any goal. Have a degree of randomization in various aspects of
your game, such as enemy encounters, loot, power-ups, and AI behavior.
Variety can also be achieved by alternating between day and night,
changing the weather, switching between interior and exterior, open and
closed spaces, etc.
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Hitman series is known for offering the player the freedom to complete
missions in various ways. It keeps things fresh, even though the game utilizes
the same game mechanics repeatedly.
100. Utilize the Power Of Customization
How do you make the player care about the protagonist or a group of
heroes (whatever the genre dictates)? Allow the player to customize
their in-game avatar. Let the player express themselves through the
character that is about to become their alter ego. The very minimum you
can do is to give the player the ability to name the character. This might
not apply to all games, but if it does to yours, it's a great opportunity to
establish an emotional connection between the player and the character.
If possible, allow further customization, such as the choice of gender,
clothing, face, hairstyle, etc.
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There’s a reason the “Sims” franchise is so successful. It’s a life simulator of
your alter-ego: a character with a name, personality traits, fashion preferences,
desires, and dreams. It couldn’t feel more personal. While this level of
customization doesn’t make sense in most games, notice how powerful it is.
Can you imagine playing Sims if all characters had randomly generated names
and appearances? Would you care for them as much?
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What Next?
I hope you enjoyed the read and the tips I shared will help you make
better games! I hope you don't mind if I tell you a little bit about my
other book. I believe it can provide you a lot of value, so all I ask from you
is a few minutes of your time, so I can share with you why it can be
beneficial to you and your gamedev journey. If you haven’t read it yet, you
might enjoy GAMEDEV: 10 Steps to Making Your First Game
Successful.
GAMEDEV
10 STEPS TO MAKING
YOUR F RST GAME SUCCESSFUL
WLAD MARHULETS
THE DEVELOPER OF DARQ
As a first-time developer with no prior experience
in coding, modeling, texturing, animation, game
design, etc., I managed to launch DARQ to
both commercial success and critical acclaim. With
$ o spent on marketing, it was featured in major
media outlets, such as IGN, Kotaku, PC Gamer,
GameSpot, Forbes, and hundreds of others. DARQ won numerous
awards, such as The Best Game of the MIX / PAX, and received a user rating
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of 9 out of 10. DARQ was in the TOP 50 of the most wishlisted games on
Steam before launch. It made it to the "Top Selling," "New and Popular,"
and "Featured and Recommended" tabs on Steam. Ultimately, it
became #42 Most Shared PC Video Game of 2019 (Metacritic). In this
book, I describe how I did it.
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In this book, I share with you what I’ve learned throughout the
development of DARQ and beyond. If somebody had given me this book
at the beginning of my journey, it would have saved me at least a year
of development time. In addition, I made a lot of strategic mistakes
during the development, so it sure would have been nice to have a guide
like this to warn me of all the challenges that awaited me.
81 1 P a g e
100 VIDEO GAME DESIGN TIPS & TRICKS
99 WONDERFUL TASTE OF
SURREALISM RARELY SEEN
IN GAMES
IGN
99 EXCEPTIONAL SOUND DESIGN
GOGooaCto
- nyr,r
99 the aesthetics are beautiful
Forbes
What is the Book About?
In 270 pages of condensed knowledge, the book guides you through a
step-by-step process of making a commercial game. It teaches you how
to learn all the necessary skills and covers various aspects of game
development:
0 Mindset
0 Preproduction
0 Funding
0 Business
W\ Law
0 Development
0 Marketing & PR
0 Publishing
0 Distribution
0 Pre-launch, launch, and post-launch strategies.
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Endorsements
"Reading this book is the shortest route toward a solid
understanding of how to make indie games, both from
creative and business perspectives."
— Quentin De Beukelaer | Game Designer of Assassin's Creed IV:
Black Flag, Assassin's Creed Unity, Ghost Recon Breakpoint
"There are many books on game development, but none of
them address the mindset you need for success. Wlad's
philosophy very much reminds me of what it was like in the
early days of making games for Blizzard."
— Mark Kern | Former Team Lead for World ofWarcraft, Producer
of Diablo II and Starcraft.
"This book is a comprehensive guide to the business of game
development."
— Bj0rn Jacobsen | Sound Designer of Cyberpunk 2077, Hitman
"This book captures the process and creates a valuable resource
for upcoming developers and creators alike."
— Piotr Babieno | CEO of Bloober Team, Layers of Fear, Blair Witch,
Observer, The Medium
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"This book is bursting with wisdom that will move you
closer to realizing your dream."
— Richard Gale | 3-time Emmy-winning director
The foreword is written by Oscar. Pulitzer Prize, and 5-time Grammy
Award-winning composer John Corigliano.
Collaborators
The book features advice by a number of industry professionals,
including:
• Mark Kern (former lead for World ofWarcraft, producer of Diablo II
and Starcraft )
• Quentin De Beukelaer (Game Designer of Assassin's Creed Unity )
• Bjprn Jacobsen (Sound Designer of Cyberpunk 2077)
• Austin Wintory (Grammy-nominated composer of Journey )
• Wojciech Piejko (Lead Designer of "Observer" and The Medium )
• Barbara Kciuk (Narrative Designer of Blair Witch )
• Rami Ismail (Developer of Nuclear Throne and Super Crate Box)
• Dan Adelman (Biz Dev of Chasm and Axiom Verge)
• Scott Millard (Publisher, Managing Director at Feardemic, Former
Managing Director at Bandai Namco
• Stephen McArthur (Video Game Attorney)
• Toms Martin (Video Game Investor)
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If you want to check out the book (paperback St eBook), you can get it here:
• United States (Amazon.com)
• Canada (Amazon. ca)
• United Kingdom (Amazon.co.uk)
• Germany and Eastern Europe (Amazon.de)
• France (Amazon.fr)
• Spain (Amazon.es)
• Itah (Amazon.it)
• Netherlands (Amazon.nl)
• Australia (Amazon.au)
• India (Amazon. in)
• Tapan (Amazon.co.jp)
• Brazi (Amazon.com.br)
• Mexico (Amazon. mx)
Hope you enjoyed this eBook!
If you want to keep an eye on more free gamedev tips St tricks, connect
with me on Twitter. I’m very responsive, so if you ever need feedback,
advice, or help with your game, I’m here for you. Also, I often share
behind-the-scenes of my own development process.
Thank you for reading!
Wlad Marhulets
85 | P a g e
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